Reviews by TheBrewo:

We pour a brew of dark ruby red coloring. It holds an easily reproducible one and a half finger tall head of fatty light tan bubbles. This shows decent retention, receding into a ghostly film across the top of the liquid. Spots and sheets of lacing are left as it goes. A chill haze exists, but no sediment is noted. Carbonation appears moderate. The aroma gives the bouquet of a veritable malt bomb. There are huge caramel and lighter coffee malts, with syrupy toffee sweetness, and cooked brown sugars. The bourbon barreling is apparent off the bat, with warm woodiness and authentic, spicy bourbon. This also gives some buttery diacetyls, and a sweeter hint of bubblegum esters. Light citric hops, fusel booze, and biting phenolic plastics come out more with warmth. Our first impression is that the flavoring is buttery and strong with woodiness and bourbon, but as in the nose, the background base flavoring is a bit milder. The flavoring does, however, strengthen quite a bit with warmth. As we sip, toffee sweetness mixes with caramel malts, buttery bourbon, and warming woodiness. The booze is fusel and fiery, stinging for the remainder of the sip. The peak comes with more soured, puckered oak dryness, strong phenolic bite, chalky grain, cloying brown sugar sweetness, and smooth caramel malts. We finish on notes of overripe strawberry fruitiness, light and nectary citric hops, big bourbon warmth, those faint aromatic esters, smooth woody oak, and more of those malty undertones. The aftertaste breathes of warmed bourbon, soured oak, green plant freshness, ripe strawberry and fig fruitiness, fusel booze, buttery diacetyls, and chalky mineral. The body is full, and the carbonation is medium. There is great slurp, froth, cream, and smack to each sip, with a sticky, warming coating travelling all the way to the belly. With this coating comes little dryness, except for light astringency on the far back of the hard palate. The abv is big, but appropriate, and the beer sips easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was the flavoring, and the thick and syrupy feel. The flavoring started a bit mild, but once it came to temperature all of the notes and glorious aromatics within blossomed. This full flavored thickness was added to by the physical stickiness and warmth of the beer and the abv. This made for a pleasant feel on each aspect of the sip and follow-through. As with the flavoring, the aroma was also a bit mild in the beginning. This improved only marginally, however, and while all of the expected notes were there, we were wishing for a bit more pop by the end, to fully round this guy out.

More User Reviews:

Poured into an imperial nonic a deep rich amber with a thinner but well formed off white head atop.Aromas of deep vaniila,and caramel eally stand out,the vanilla tinged oak is a bit heavy handed in my opinion.Somewhat boozy and very oaky on the palate,vanilla and caramel flavors add more sweetness,it is very smooth going down though.Another barrel aged beer that gets a little to much of the "aged" flavors,its not bad but it could be better with less aged flavors.

Nose of medium-toasted malts, brown sugar, and liquid caramel. Traces of light, raw wood occasionally emerge in the background. Hints of toffee and vanilla when it warms, and brown sugars take on more of a molasses. I like how the wood in the nose gets darker, too.

Lots of luscious caramels on a foundation of whiskey wood. Hints of vanilla in the finish. ABV is quite well hidden, but emerges soon enough warming the tummy. After it really warms in the glass, the malts take on a dark molasses flavor. There's also some dark, bitter fruit in the finish after it warms and opens. In fact, this is what becomes the lasting impression of the latter half of the bottle.

Overall, a solid bourbon barrel-aged barleywine that impresses by the quality of its even execution rather than any single memorable aspect. Not a go-to like Insanity is, but definitely worth consideration.

The beer pours an amber color with a white head. The aroma is a lot of bourbon and oak, with some brown sugar, maple and alcohol. There is no doubt that this beer was bourbon-barrel aged. The flavor is also heavy on the bourbon. I get a lot of maple, vanilla and brown sugar, as well as some bourbon and oak notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

This was sampled alongside the cabernet barrel-aged version, and I thought this was the superior beer.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Below Decks opens to a sweet, fruity nose bearing loads of fruit esters, including very nice bits of plum, fig, orange, grape, and berry, as well as a touch of raisin and prune. These aromas – especially the darker ones – mix well with a light overtone of vanilla, oak, and bourbon from the barrel aging, lending the beer very strong tawny port overtones. In fact, in a blind smelling test, this could be easily mistaken for a light, sweet port, with just a faint hint of extra-vanilla-laden bourbon about the edges. The grains also bring in supporting layers of pie crust and floury baguette, as well as touches of multigrain toast crust, to help offset the sweetness, and touches of brown sugar and amber agave nectar add further dimension to the sugars. As a whole, the nose here is very nice, bearing little in the way of beer aromas, but boasting a full-bodied port-like aroma that is very enticing. The nose can be almost too sweet at times, the fruits coming across like Jolly Rancher candies, but there’s just enough darkness and breadiness to prevent it from becoming cloying.

On the tongue, the beer’s bourbon barrel aging is immediately obvious, the opening notes being a shot of heavily vanilla-laced bourbon that mixes almost instantly with a huge array of fruits, including plum, cherry, berry, orange, fig, and prune, lending the beer an immediate cocktail-cum-tawny-port overtone that is quite delicious. Further sugars make themselves known after a few seconds, including brown sugar, agave nectar, wildflower honey, and even thin threads of super sweet confectioner’s sugar. These sweet notes are lightly held in check by woody overtones from the barrel aging, as well as toast crust, cereal grain, biscuit, and yeasty rising whole wheat dough, though the bready notes occupy much less than half of the flavors. There is an alcoholic vapor that hangs over everything, but it mainly passes off as bourbon – though it can border on vodka. The aftertaste is a continuation of the main mouthful, with a stronger bourbon vapor presence, lingering on the tongue in fruity, alcoholic goodness for a good while. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is a very nice Barleywine, and the bourbon barrel aging has added a nice layer of complexity that was sorely needed in the basic Below Decks version of this beer. There is perhaps a bit too much sweetness in here (admitting that such a profile fits with the style), and the alcohol vapors do get very strong after a few sips, but on the whole this is very worth trying.

Pours out a deep mahghony, dark brown, with slight hues of deep red. A decent looking light tan colored head, average head retention. Not a whole lot of lacing. Lots of small carbonation bubbles rushing to the top. Some legs is noticeable however.

Smells of warming bourbon booze, toffee, caramel, a bit of butterscotch, ripe dark fruits with some fruity esters. As it warms the booziness almost becomes solvent like.

Nice taste, lots of sweet butterscotch and caramel but some nice warming bourbon as well, somewhat boozey, some oaky vanilla and a bit of ripe dark fruits. A butterscotch sweetness really lingers with the warming bourbon into the finish.

Mouthfeel at first was pretty thin, seemed to get a little better as it warmed.

Not a bad bourbon aged barleywine, has a really nice sweet butterscotch flavor that I loved. A bit more body and this could have been up there with the best of them.

Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a one-finger cream-colored head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of sweet caramel malts, toffee, vanilla, and bourbon. As the beer warms the sweetness subsides just a bit.

Tastes very similar to how it smells. Syrupy caramel malt flavors with large amounts of toffee and lighter amounts of vanilla kick things off. Midway through the sip the bourbon really shines as the vanilla flavors intensify and the oak adds a bit of an edge to the flavor profile. The ending is mildly bitter, leaving sweet caramel malt and vanilla flavors lingering on the palate.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with smooth carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall this is a very nice bourbon-barrel-aged beer for a relatively low price. Definitely worth a shot.

Bourbon assails you at first sniff - the mildly acrid tobacco notes are backed by a touch of vanilla, butterscotch, and a light fruity/floral scent. Very slight oxidative notes seem derived from the barrel - though with bourbon this doesn't make a lot of sense.

This is another delicious version of the Below Decks. The beer is fantastic on its own, but the bourbon adds depth and mellows the alcohol. The barrels impart not only bourbon, but also some vanilla notes. The maltiness of the beer is balanced, fruity, and sugary - just the way I wanted it to be. This is definitely a beer worth trying.

Bourbon Barrel Below Decks pours a darker copper color. It's a little hazy, and has a deep red look with backlighting. A modest off-white head caps it, and stands about a finger tall. It recedes relatively quickly, and leaves a light, sticky coat of lace in its wake.

The nose is good. It starts out with a light bourbon scent. That's followed by a healthy dose of caramel and toffee. The bourbon scent complements the malts nicely. It's not overbearing at all. Oak and vanilla emerge and add nice depth. Light fruit notes are noted. Smells like apple and pear, rather than the typical citrus notes found in American Barleywines. Alcohol is blended pretty well for this big boy. Smells good.

The flavor is probably a little better than the nose, but not enough to trigger a score bump. Sweet caramel and toffee flavors are abundant initially. A light cocoa-ish flavor is also noted. The barrel aging really imparted a nice bourbon flavor. It's light to moderate in strength, but works extremely well with the other flavors. Vanilla and oak are also notable additions. Light apple and pear flavors are noted throughout. Alcohol is barely noticeable in this big boy. Finishes sweet with a touch of bourbon.

This one has a body that's on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is light, and it is nearly smooth. More body would certainly be a good thing though. Drinkability is good. Despite its stature, it goes down relatively easy. A bomber is probably enough given its strength, but it's deceptive.

Bourbon Barrel Below Decks is good beer. I've enjoyed the bomber and don't have much to complain about at all. It would benefit from a little more body and just a little bit of a hop presence. But, it's good stuff as it is. I like the approach with the barrel aging. I have no idea how long it was in barrels, but it was the perfect time. There's just enough bourbon, vanilla, and oak to make things really click. Easily recommended.